Say hello to MillerCoors

Today marks the beginning of a whole new beer company.  Two of the nations largest beer companies today embark on a new venture and a new logo (pictured here).  SABMiller and Molson Coors have now officially combined into one company - MillerCoors LLC.  MillerCoors now control over 29 percent of all of the beer market in the USA.  This joint venture is an attempt to stay competitive with the likes of Anheuser Busch who is also in the middle of a heated takeover attempt by In-Bev.   MillerCoors launched their new web site at www.millercoors.com and will begin the long process of consolidating operations that are expected to save the combined companies over $500 million annually.  The new logo represents a beer glass viewed from above.

MillerCoors now controls such brands as Miller Lite, Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Blue Moon, Miller Genuine Draft (MGD), Henry Weinhards, Fosters, Peroni, Leinenkugels, Keystone Light, Hamm's, Milwaukee's Best Light, Pilsner Urquell and Red Dog, just to name a few.

While the company officially begins joint operations today, it will still take from 18 to 24 months to fully complete the integration process.  The new headquarters for MillerCoors has yet to be selected, however it is not going to reside in Colorado or Wisconsin, but perhaps in a more neutral location such as Chicago or Dallas.    What will this mean for employees over at the Coors plant in Golden?  It's too early to tell but in order to save half a billion dollars a year in joint operations, some consolidations and cuts will have to be made.

As for Anheuser-Busch, what will become of them should Belgian-based In-Bev succeed in their takeover attempts?  Perhaps a good new name for that company would be "In-A-Busch".